Does it make sense to limit our spending this summer?

[United Pro]

"Does it make sense to limit our spending this summer?" as opposed to, I assume, unlimited spending. To answer briefly, yes it's not feasible to spend without a limit. If your point is, should we perhaps spend over our budget to strengthen the squad (even if it means using up money taken from a loan) then that's open for debate as that approach can be seen as an investment that can lead to greater financial benefits in the long run.

 

[andersj]

Every year people moan about it. “I want player A, but not for that price”

Really confusing. I wouldn’t stand behind someone in Sainsbury’s and be like “I want you to have those carrots, but not for £3”

Happy for United to spend whatever they want on whoever they want, as long as it improves us as a team

On that I agree. If there is quality available; get them (if we can)! My point is that there is a lot of talk about CBs and I think it could make sense to wait and see, even if we have funds available.

Maybe instead of spending £30-40 mill on Ake or a young talent from abroad, we could spend even more on a «sure thing» next summer. Right now I really struggle to see that their is a player like that available.

 

[Dazzmondo]

I agree with you about the quality of our first XI however I disagree heavily about us having a good squad. I actually think we have a very poor squad with a couple exceptions. Lindelof and Shaw are 2 players that aren't at a high enough level to be long-term starters but they are adequate. Matic since the restart has been great but similarly it doesn't feel like he's at the level where he should be starting for us regularly, based on the last 2 seasons he's merely adequate.

The biggest issue is when our first choice players get injured. We have no 3rd choice cb that is good enough (maybe Tuanzebe could prove to be good enough if he hadn't had so many problems with injuries) to play in our team without weakening us massively. Similarly if Shaw is injured, which happens all the time and will without any doubt happen again next season, Williams is not good enough to be a starting lb for us in most games. Matic due to his age will need to be rested and has also had problems with injuries.

Fred and McTominay are probably slightly better replacements but I'm not sure they can perform the role that Matic plays adequately. Our team looks so much worse as soon as the likes of Matic, Pogba and Fernandes are replaced, and this is when we are comfortably winning the game already. If we were playing without these players against a team that was still hungry and trying to win it could be even worse.

I really want Sancho and I don't think we should sign any alternative rw. Whether we get him this upcoming season or the following season we should make sure to get him in. However, I think it is necessary to strengthen at least 1 other position this season. It doesn't sound like it will be lb which I think is a mistake but I guess Ole is banking on Williams improving a lot and Shaw being able to stay fit. Considering it seems almost certain that Upamecano will be leaving Leipzig this season and has a €60m release clause we should be going all out to get him imo since that's a very fair price for a player of his age and quality. If we were to sign both Upamecano and Sancho I'd be delighted and we can then wait to improve dm and lb next year (if Williams improves enough maybe we wouldn't even need a lb, who knows). If we just sign Sancho and no other position I don't see us making much progress this upcoming season considering we already have a good chance of finishing 3rd/4th this season.

 

[EwanI Ted]

I dont think we should limit our spending per se, but I do think we're in a position where we should only be buying top quality players who will make a major difference to our team, even if that means waiting another year or more before buying a replacement. We're past the point where 6 or 7 positions in the first team need upgrading. If it takes a little time to finish things off, so be it.

For example I think Lindelof is a weak link in our defence, but he's still pretty good. There's no point spending £40M on a player who's marginally better than what we have. Better to save our money for a season or two and be prepared to spend double that down the line if the perfect player comes along.

Young players and the odd short term older player to fill a gap are different, its fine to be picking up those guys as and when needed. But in terms of those high end £40M+ transfers, "better fewer, but better" should be our motto, as someone once said.

 

[seegoblu]

From my perspective, we should spend. Regardless of our squad strength or depth, this pandemic has created market conditions that are conducive to bargain hunting. Clubs with the financial strength to take advantage will find willing sellers and less competition for their targets. For example, look at Chelsea, under normal market conditions, I am not sure that Leverkusen is amenable to selling Havertz at all, never mind at a price below €100m.

If United had access to additional funds (ignore the drawdown on their credit line a few months ago, which I suspect was done to smooth out cash flow issues with the loss of match day revenue), I think this is the summer to spend as much as is financially reasonable.

There will be players who will be available at lower prices than would be expected under normal market conditions and others who will be available who otherwise wouldn’t be at all. This is the time to flex United’s (FFP-compliant) financial muscle, not shrink back and let impaired clubs catchup and compete for targets next year.

 

[Dante]

Every year people moan about it. “I want player A, but not for that price”

Really confusing. I wouldn’t stand behind someone in Sainsbury’s and be like “I want you to have those carrots, but not for £3”

Happy for United to spend whatever they want on whoever they want, as long as it improves us as a team

Exactly.

Even then, I want to see the best players not just the best value players.